Redding horse neglect case held up another day
A Redding woman was scheduled for court Tuesday, Jan. 26, and was nearly rearrested after failing to make an appearance. She had been scheduled for a trial by jury on charges of animal cruelty for neglecting two horses, Chinook and Cheyenne. Lisa Lind-Larsen was on the docket at 9:30 in Danbury's Superior Court for jury selection in front of Judge Kevin Russo.
At 10:40 Lind-Larsen, 76, had not shown up in court, and Judge Russo promptly directed her rearrest. Perhaps someone notified her about the rearrest possibility but, in any case, Lind-Larsen avoided rearrest when she appeared in court Tuesday afternoon. By that time, jury selection was postponed to Wednesday morning.
Lind-Larsen is "representing herself in criminal and civil court cases." This charge stems from two counts of animal cruelty dating to July 2014 when she was charged for the emaciated, neglected condition of two horses. Per the legal records, there was "scarce" food for the horses, and stalls were deep in manure, the available drinking water was "scant" and "unclean" and both horses were emaciated with ribs, hips and backbones clearly showing. Both Chinook and Cheyenne, Mustangs, were removed from her property and placed with the Department of Agriculture. Lind-Larsen has battled in civil court for the return of her horses and appealed the decision to keep the horses with the state. A decision from Connecticut's Appellate Court has not yet been released.
According to supervisor Ray Connors, Animal Control Division, both Chinook and Cheyenne are doing very well now at Connecticut's large animal rehabilitation facility in Niantic and will be kept there until a decision by the Appellate Court is made. Connecticut has been unable to permit the adoption of the two horses because Lind-Larsen has the pending civil case.
Lind-Larsen has owned the horses since 2004. In past court proceedings, Lind-Larsen claimed that her farm was not unsanitary. Besides, she claimed per source Danbury NewsTimes, that "it is a common practice to protect stalls from flooding by letting manure build up on the floor." Court records also show she testified that roof shingles were "placed" in the water trough to "help squirrels climb out in case they fell into the water."
Said Lind-Larsen, she "had not been notified about the court appearance" adding the she just recently moved for dismissal due to statutory grounds. However, she gave no details.
More detail about Chinook and Cheyenne and their abuse by accused Lind-Larsen are available on this Facebook link.
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